From Friend To Enemy
by Hollytrek
Summary: A story from the original X-men cartoon. One of Jubilee's long lost friends returns to confront her. However both girls have undergone serious changes.
1. Chapter 1: How it all started

From friend to enemy  
Chapter 1  
  
In the middle of the dense forest there is a secret base. Now this is no ordinary base, this is a base where one man trained both man and mutant to the prime of their strength. He trained many men and mutants but the most powerful of them all was Deborah. He had trained her severely since she was 12 and had first discovered her powers. She was, to this day, undefeated when Professor Z decided to attack, his arch enemy, the X-MEN.   
  
********************  
  
Deborah walked into the dark room and bowed at the back of the chair. It slowly spun around to reveal Prof. Z. His right eye had scars all over it, even scratches on the eye, which gave him a wicked look. He was tall and skinny, but had great muscles. He wore a tight black suit that made him look even rougher. Nobody that even looked at him wanted to get on his bad side. He motioned for Deborah to stand, giving her a quick smile revealing his vampire like teeth.  
"Deborah, good of you to come. I have a special mission and I think you are just the mutant for it. Is it not true that you once were friends with the newest Xmen, Jubilee?" he asked taking on a serious expression.  
Deborah's expression suddenly stiffened, "You are correct."   
"How would you like to get back at Jubilee for leaving you for those Xmen?" he inquired.  
She paused a moment thinking back to what had caused her hatred of the Xmen...  
  
It had all started years ago, Jubilee and Deborah had been close friends. But one day, Deborah had gained her powers and had joined Prof. Z. She had slowly disappeared on weekends for the first year, then on weekdays. Until it had come to the point she finally left home for a complete year to continue her training. She had returned when Jubilee had turned 14 to discover she had also gained powers. Deborah thought this to be a great thing that had happened. She had planned on helping Jubilee develop her powers, then they could work together forever. This had all changed when Jubilee was caught up in this anti-mutant program. She had not been able to help Jubilee before the Xmen had interfered and after little thought Jubilee had joined the Xmen. Deborah had been furious and decided something should be done. She had approached Wolverine, one of the Xmen, to try to convince him Jubilee was better off with her. He wouldn't give her a straight answer though, and started walking away. Until that day Deborah had kept her powers to herself so no one except the professor knew about them. But this made her so mad she had shot Wolverine in the back with a rather strong electricity jolt. Then as he got up she had disappeared down the street, not to be seen by anyone to this day.  
  
"Deborah!" Prof. Z said knocking her out of her memory lane.  
"Yes!" she said half startled.  
"I asked you a question and I expect to get an answer!" he stated rather sternly.  
"I would be glad to," Deborah said in a mysteriously evil tone.  
"Good, here's the plan." Z. laid out a plan board on the desk and covered the scheme from top to bottom.  
  
********************  
  
The next day she stood beside the Prof. over looking the construction of the trap. "Now all we need is the bait," the Prof. said turning to Deborah who was now dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a T-shirt, rather than her ordinary outfit, which she now preferred over this. Problem was, the outfit was part of the plan so she had no choice.  
"You ready Deborah?" he asked turning back to face her.  
She nodded her head 'yes', jumped up in the air, did a backwards flip in the air and landed at the edge of the property. She walked into the dense woods without even a look back.  
  
The Prof. watched as she made her grand exit then turned back to watch his part of the plan in progress.  
  
********************  
  
Logan, codename Wolverine, was going up the stairs when he suddenly heard a knock at the door. "Who could that be?" he snarled and headed back down the stairs towards the door. When he opened the door he saw a teenage girl wearing a usual kids' outfit and hair up in a ponytail but there was something about this certain girl that he didn't like.  
"Hello. Logan, am I right?" Deborah asked in her sweetest voice. No answer came so she continued in her fake sweet voice, which drove her nuts to use. "I'm an old friend of Jubilee and I was told her new location was here." She still got no response. "So, can I see her just for a while?" she asked hoping he would take the bait.  
He looked her over for a minute and although she knew he wanted to slam the door in her face he let her in. "Wait here," he commanded heading up the stairs.  
  
********************  
  
He reached the top of the stairs and entered the room where the rest of the Xmen were sitting and talking about their latest evidence about Magneto's where about. "Some weirdo here to see Jubilee," Wolverine said taking his seat.  
Jubilee looked at him odd, along with the rest of the Xmen. He didn't even look up though and Jubilee left the room to see what this was all about.  
  
********************  
  
Deborah was looking at some pictures when she heard someone coming down the steps and turned just in time to see Jubilee fling her arms around her neck.  
"Where have you been?" she asked not letting go of Deborah's neck.  
Deborah pushed her back and looked her straight in the eyes, " I just stopped by to say good bye." Deborah turned and headed out the door.  
"Wait," Jubilee yelled and ran after her.  
  
Deborah headed straight into the woods and down a narrow path with Jubilee on her tail. She thought Jubilee would never be quiet. She asked question after question until finally Deborah stopped walking. Jubilee placed her hand on Deborah's shoulder and muttered one word, "Deborah..."  
"Don't call me Deborah!" she said spinning around flinging Jubilee away. Right then and there she placed her fingertips together and lightning surrounded her. Jubilee watched in awe as Deborah changed from her old friend to one who could likely be an enemy if she was not careful. As the lightning cleared Jubilee could see what had happened. Her jeans and T-shirt she had been wearing were now replaced by a tight red full body-suit with lightning bolts all over it. A pair of red knee-high boots, which were also decorated with lightning bolts, had replaced her sneakers. Her blue eyes had turned into small black cat-like slits in the middle of a pure white eye and her teeth were now twice as sharp. She wore a necklace that had a lightning bolt with the letter Z on it and lightning earrings. Her hair had turned a dark brown with blond lightning streaks going down it and she wore a V shaped bandanna on her head, also marked with a lightning bolt.   
Jubilee was so shocked it took her a minute to regain her balance. When she did she was not sure what to do. Deborah stood there looking at her with hatred in her eyes.  
"Deborah?" She stuttered. 


	2. Chapter 2: The truth comes out

From friend to enemy  
Chapter 2  
  
"I told you not to call me that! You are to call me by my true name which is Eliminator!" Deborah stated clearly annoyed at Jubilee.  
"But Deborah..."  
"Stop it!!!" Eliminator formed a power ball in her hands and shot it at Jubilee, hitting her square in the chest. Sending Jubilee flying backwards, causing her to hit her head on a rock. To Deborah's surprise though, Jubilee got back up.  
"What do you want DD....err...Eliminator?" she questioned finally regaining her balance.  
"I want revenge!" her eyes began to glow red.  
"For what? I never hurt you in any way!" she yelled back trying to knock some sense into her friend.  
"Yes you did! You hurt me the worst way a person could! You left me for the   
X-men. Plus, when I try to get you back I was cast away. You broke my heart and for that you are no friend of mine." The memory made her furious. She made a fist, which immediately started to glow. She made a punching action, which caused an explosion to happen at Jubilee's feet sending her flying up in the air again hitting her head on the rock. When the smoke cleared Jubilee was face down on the ground and Eliminator stood across the, now created, crater with her fists still clenched and glowing in front of her.  
Jubilee moaned, got up, and shot at Eliminator aware that she was not going to reach her friend through those eyes. As the dust settled though, Eliminator was standing there with just a small scratch on her hand, which was outstretched. Jubilee shook off the shock and shot another round at Eliminator who just flipped out of the way and landed standing behind her. As she turned around she felt a sharp terrible pain in her back as Eliminator blasted her again. Now Jubilee lay on the other side of the crater just barely moving.  
She didn't even get up, "What are you doing?"  
Eliminator's hands again started to glow, "Getting my revenge!" She put her hand out towards Jubilee and Jubilee prepared for another attack, but instead a force field formed around Eliminator and she floated over the crater to stand inches from Jubilee.  
"Stop this! You don't want to do this! I can help you if you will just come back with me!" Jubilee said in an attempt to calm her angry friend.  
"You have no idea what I have in plan for you. And as for the helping part you will find that I need no such help from a X-men," Eliminator said smiling for the first time since her transformation. Jubilee almost gasped to see her teeth were all pointy. They were all like crystal white fangs.  
Jubilee suddenly felt weightless. She looked around to see she was now in one of Eliminator's force fields except she had no control of where they were going. "Deeee...." She stopped suddenly as she noticed Eliminator's eyes begin to glow again.  
Eliminator raised her hand and shot some blue electricity into the force field. It wrapped itself around Jubilee stopping her from talking or moving. "Good silence at last," Deborah said leading the force field bubble through the trees making a nice clean path wherever they walked.  
  
********************  
  
Storm, Rogue, and Jean Graye were all walking on the roof enjoying a break from the busy daily life. They had been watching Jubilee follow her friend but had just recently lost sight of her. "Well what was that all about?" Rogue said turning to go back inside.  
"One of Jubilee's old friends. She doesn't look like a friend to me though." Storm said also heading in.  
Suddenly there was an explosion shaking the whole building. "What the?" Rogue said turning back around.  
Jean gasped, "There." She pointed out the way they had seen Jubilee go. "It's Jubilee. She's in trouble," she said using her psychic powers.  
  
********************  
  
"I think I've got it," the beast said as he typed on the computer. "Is that the girl, Wolverine?" he asked.  
"Yeah, that's her."  
"It says nothing here about this girl being dangerous. But she was recorded off and on missing for three years 'till she finally vanished completely the year Jubilee came."  
"That's because she was jealous," Wolverine said leaning against the wall.  
"What ever do you mean?" beast asked looking rather puzzled.  
"That was the girl that wanted Jubilee to come with her instead of us. After I refused she gave me a real nasty energy blast in the back, but when I turned around to fight back she was gone. I haven't seen her since. I knew there was something strange about that friend."  
"Then this friend of hers is rather dangerous."  
"I should so. Those energy blasts even knocked me out for a minute."  
Storm and Rogue both flew in through the window, "All we found was a gigantic crater and a trail. But we didn't bother to follow the trail but it may lead somewhere," Rogue said.  
"Then that will be the first place you look. Cyclops, take Storm and Gambit in when you reach the building this path leads to and I want Wolverine and Rogue to stand the guard outside. This may be a trap," Prof. Xavier said wheeling his chair around to face the X-men.  
"Let's move out," Cyclops said heading for the door.  
  
********************  
  
"Mission complete," Deborah said coming into Prof. Z.'s office. She pushed Jubilee through the door and kneeled, looking at the floor.  
"Excellent. You are my most dependable mutant. You should be proud of yourself."  
"You are most kind professor."  
"Stand up. We don't have much time to spare. Now that we have the bait, the trap is complete. You will have your revenge and I will loose a enemy, once we capture the   
X-men," he said smiling down at Jubilee who kept trying to escape the electricity ropes. "You can go take your position now and I will get the rest of the crew ready."  
Deborah got up and gabbed Jubilee by the neck. She then formed another bubble around her and floated out of the room.  
  
********************  
  
"Are you sure this is the place they have Jubilee at?" Cyclops asked eyeing the building Wolverine had led them to.  
"I don't know about Jubilee, but that Deborah girl's trail led this way and then in there."  
"All right let's get going then," Cyclops said starting off towards the building.  
They walked up to the main door and opened it. There was nothing inside it was completely empty. "Watch yourself. This may be a trap."  
No sooner had Cyclops warned them, and the three X-men had stepped inside, that the doors slammed shut behind them. They were trapped! Hidden doors opened on all sides revealing a whole army of people and mutants! 


	3. Chapter 3: The team's first encounter

From friend to enemy  
Chapter 3  
  
Outside Wolverine and Rogue saw the door slam, but no matter how hard Rogue pulled with her super strength she could not budge the door. "Well, what are we going to do? We just can't sit here," Rogue said sounding a bit worried.  
"We find another door. I think I've found them," Wolverine said starting off around the corner.  
"Whatever you say sugar."  
  
********************  
  
They came around another corner and there it was another door, but this one opened. They jumped in, and were surprised to find Deborah and Jubilee. Wolverine extended his claws. "You again," he grumbled.  
  
"Looks like we'll have some action after all Jubilee," Deborah said getting up. She placed her fingertips together and lightning surrounded her as before and as it cleared she was back in her outfit.  
  
"A fancy outfit won't save you from these claws," Wolverine said jumping at Eliminator.   
  
While Wolverine was dodging Eliminator's bolts, Rogue flew over to Jubilee. "How do ya get this stuff off?" she asked trying to tear the electricity.  
"You have to knock her out. It's like turning off the light, but please don't kill her," Jubilee pleaded.  
"I'll do my best honey," Rogue said flying off to help Wolverine.  
  
"Wolverine, watch out!" Rogue shouted. Too late. Eliminator had made a bolt and shot it at such an angle that it hit Wolverine, sending him flying against the opposite wall.  
Suddenly Eliminator turned around to face Rogue, " You want to try your luck beating the Eliminator? Oh well, don't say I didn't warn you!" Rogue flew at her but had to fly up to dodge a bolt.  
  
Every time Rogue would throw something or fly at the Eliminator a bolt of lightning would stop her. Finally Rogue was not fast enough and was hit by a bolt sending her flying across the room. Eliminator walked over to Rogue who was getting up off the floor and formed a death ray in her hands but before she could finish the ray Wolverine attacked. He knocked her flat on her back and landed on top of her with his claws raised over his head ready to strike.   
  
Just then the back wall exploded revealing a room on fire and three X-men. They stepped over the wall into the room and stopped at what they saw. "Wolverine! Let her go!" Cyclops ordered. When Wolverine didn't respond he shot a low level blast in his direction, but was surprised to see it bounce off some kind of electrical force field.  
  
"You mean to tell me your friend has made it so he has to kill her in order to get free?" Rogue asked Jubilee rather puzzled herself.  
"Unless she kills him first," Jubilee said not taking her eyes off the sight of Wolverine ready to strike.  
  
"Jubilee is at least smart. I will give her that talent," Eliminator said as she made a quick flip taking Wolverine by surprise. She landed on top of Wolverine. "NEVER under estimate the Eliminator." She began forming another death ray, quicker this time, but Wolverine was quicker. He made an X with his claws blocking the ray just as she shot it. It hit his claws and bounced back hitting her. It caused her to hit the opposite wall and knocking some of the ceiling down from the impact.  
  
Jubilee's ropes blinked then disappeared completely. Wolverine walked over to the seemingly unconscious Eliminator. He raised his claws above his head ready to strike and finish what he had begun. But as he prepared to strike he heard Jubilee behind him, "Wolverine! Stop!"   
He spun around to face his fellow X-men, but before he could say anything Cyclops interrupted, "Wolverine, stand down."  
"Why should I? She's caused nothing but trouble!" he growled.  
"She doesn't know what she is doing. This is the only life she has every known. We can help her change," Jubilee said hoping to give her friend another try.  
  
Behind Wolverine, soft enough so only Jubilee noticed above the commotion, Eliminator got to her knees. Forming a shimmering death ball in her hands she whispered, "I do to know what I am doing!" With that she aimed at Wolverine's back and shot.  
  
"Wolverine!" Jubilee screamed but it was too late. It hit Wolverine in the back and sent him flying into the flames in the other room.  
Eliminator got to her feet. "You can never help me! I don't need your help!" she yelled.  
  
But Eliminator didn't notice that Rogue had flown around her and now stood behind her. She removed her glove revealing her strength sapping skin. "Calm down Sugar," she said as she placed her hand on Eliminator's shoulder. Eliminator jerked and then slumped to the floor. "Well at least that's one heel cooled," Rogue said replacing her glove.  
  
"But where's Wolverine?" Jubilee asked staring into the flames.  
"I'll find him," Rogue said taking off into the smoke.   
  
She emerged carrying an unconscious Wolverine.  
"Is he dead?" Jubilee asked through tears.  
"No sweaty. That healing factor will help him get through anything," Rogue said patting Jubilee on the back. Jubilee smiled back.  
  
"Let's get going," Cyclops said picking up Eliminator and heading out the door at a fast pace. The other room started to explode, fire spurting everywhere.  
"Let's get out of here petite," Gambit said picking up Jubilee and following Cyclops out the door. Rogue followed carrying Wolverine with Storm close behind her.  
  
********************  
  
Deborah awoke to find herself in a medical lab. She tried to move, but was completely pinned down, from head to toe. She managed to turn her head a bit and out of the corner of her eye saw Jubilee and her professor around Wolverine who was on another bed. She smiled to think of what she had done to him. Then figuring this was a waste of time decided to blast out of there. She tried to form some kind of electricity but had to stop from the pain.   
"I must be more powerful than I thought," Deborah thought to herself. "I guess a few more minutes in this place wouldn't matter," she thought relaxing a bit to listen to the conversation across the room.  
  
"Professor are you sure they will both recover fine?" Jubilee asked for the 5th time that day.  
"They both should recover quickly. Wolverine has his healing ability which should take care of this, and Eliminator will be fine," Professor Xavier said reassuringly. "She is still strong enough to resist my mind sweep. I can't figure it out even in an unconscious state she can stop me from looking into her mind. It will be impossible when she wakes up," he said more to himself than to Jubilee.  
"I just feel responsible. This all happened because of me," Jubilee added looking down at the floor.  
"You have nothing to worry about they should both recover nicely."  
Jubilee looked up to see Professor X leave the room, but she took a seat next to Wolverine talking to herself all the while  
  
Deborah felt a bit stronger now so decided to test her restraints. "Not very tight security around here. All the better for my escape," she thought to herself. Deborah tilted her head enough to see the clamps. "Ha, this junk won't hold me," she said making a fist, which started to glow causing the clamp to open. Then she made a fist with her other hand, "To easy."  
  
Just then Jubilee walked across the room, "And as for you. We will help you." She looked down at her friend and noticed the two undone clamps, "How did this happen?" She started to retie the clamp but the hand jumped up to grab her wrist. Jubilee gasped to see Deborah's eyes open and immediately change from their human appearance to their cat- like slits.  
"Not so fast!" 


	4. Chapter 4: Escape

From friend to enemy  
Chapter 4  
  
Jubilee watched in horror as Deborah unlocked each clamp with just a touch of her glowing fingers. She undid every clamp with her right hand while holding Jubilee's wrist in a death grip with her left hand. Jubilee squirmed around trying to break free but Deborah would just tighten her grip or twist her arm painfully past the bearable levels.  
Finally she gave up and just stood there as Deborah finished the last clamp. Then it came to her. She could yell for help! One sentence and help would be on the way. "Someone...mmmmm...mmmmm." She had forgotten about Deborah's now free right hand, which had shot, to her mouth covering the entire thing. Suddenly she felt a small shock in her mouth and then Deborah's hand left. She attempted to call for help again but when she tried to open her mouth she found it was being held shot by an electric rope. Now she was mad! She started trying to blast her captor, but it was no good. Deborah just held her hands harder shocking her back in the process. After a minute Jubilee ceased her efforts, she seemed to have been hurt worse than Deborah, which was no advantage to her. She had no choice but to admit defeat.  
  
Deborah got to her feet and still holding Jubilee's wrist changed into her more comfortable outfit. She preferred her Eliminator suit to regular clothes, which she was wearing now. "I must have subconsciously changed into these junk clothes," she thought to herself. "First, to get out of here." She turned to Jubilee, "You are going to help me!" When she shook her head 'no' Eliminator gave her a painfully strong jolt and when she prepared to give her another Jubilee nodded her head 'yes'.  
"That's more like it." She yanked Jubilee in front of her, "Lead us out of here and no tricks, or you're going to get it! And I mean it!"  
  
Jubilee started towards the door with Deborah holding both her hands behind her. She hated being used as a shield but there was nothing she could think of to do. She led Deborah out the door and into the main hall. There she stopped. She could lead Deborah down the main hall or out the back way. She smiled to herself as Deborah pushed her and she headed down the main hall.  
  
Deborah was getting uneasy. She had to keep pushing Jubilee along who seemed to be walking slower and slower. They kept walking down the hall until they heard voices ahead. Jubilee came to a complete stop in the middle of the hallway, and then seemed to try to pull ahead. Deborah was not stupid though. She knew that if they continued down the hall they would run into them. Suddenly the voices got louder as the people started heading towards where Deborah and Jubilee were standing. Deborah yanked Jubilee around in the other direction and pushed her the opposite way. Jubilee tensed up as Eliminator pushed her in the other direction. As they were heading down the hall more voices appeared from the front though. They were trapped, with no rooms on either side of the hall. Deborah looked around quickly, determined to not let Jubilee know she was at a loss of where to go. Jubilee's arms seemed to relax under her grip so she tightened her grip. Suddenly Deborah spotted the window just a few feet away. She shoved Jubilee towards it, and after opening the window blew out the screen. This didn't make to much noise to Deborah's relief. Jubilee started to kick as Deborah pushed her head out the window. Then with one shove Jubilee was out the window and flying through the air.  
  
"No!" Jubilee screamed inside her head as she felt gravity begin to kick in. This was the worst way to die. She began wishing she never had had any mutant powers or had ever joined the Xmen. It was too late now though, because she had joined the Xmen and left her friend she was going to die for it. She closed her eyes as tears began to stream down her face, she had loved Deborah like a sister and if she only would have known ... Suddenly she stopped falling. She opened her eyes to see Deborah sitting on the windowsill. Her hand was outstretched towards her, glowing. Now she knew what had happened, Deborah had saved her with a force field. As she looked into those black slits though, she almost longed to die. Who knew what that heartless monster would do!?! This monster had taken the place of her friend and Jubilee was not sure if she would ever see her friend again.  
She watched as Deborah, or should she say Eliminator, jumped down off the windowsill as if she would jump off a bed. Then slowly the force field followed the glowing hand. They headed out into the woods and Jubilee wondered if she would be as lucky this time.  
  
*******************  
  
"Emergency!! Emergency!!" the sirens blared throughout the Xavier mansion.   
"What's this all about?" Rogue said joining Storm in the hall.  
"I'm not quite sure myself," she admitted. Suddenly they heard footsteps up ahead. Normally this would have meant nothing but it was a kind of clicking footstep that only boots made. The only people who wore shoes of that kind were Rogue, herself, and Jean, who was currently on another assignment with Beast. "Somehow I get the feeling that we have an intruder," she motioned down the hall.  
The clicking stopped growing louder and began to fade away so they followed the hall towards the shoes.  
Up ahead they could hear Gambit and Cyclops talking as they turned and headed into the meeting room. They hurried up and entered to find Cyclops, Gambit, and Professor X already waiting for them.  
"OK, everyone is here. Now what is going on," Gambit said rather impatiently.  
"Here's a tape of the medical lab about forty-five minutes ago." Xavier switched on one of the main viewing screens. A picture of the medical lab popped up and it looked like a normal conversation between the Professor and Jubilee.   
"By the way, where was Jubilee," Storm thought to herself.  
They continued to watch, not knowing what they were looking at. Suddenly the Professor enlarged the cameras right over Eliminator's bed. Then they saw it her hands were glowing. Suddenly the locks popped open but she just lay there, until Jubilee came over. Xavier sped it up a bit and they watched as Eliminator caught Jubilee and exited the room then the picture faded.  
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Cyclops said heading for the door.  
"Cyclops! This time they will not be as foolish. Watch your back," Xavier said also exiting the room.  
"OK people, let's move!" he yelled and they started off towards the jet.  
  
********************  
  
When they arrived at the jet they found Wolverine already waiting inside.  
"What are you doing? You're not well enough to come along on this mission," Cyclops said rather surprised.  
"I heel fast and no way are you going to kick that girl's butt without me," he said taking his seat.  
There seemed to be no chance of changing his mind, plus they were in a hurry, so Cyclops took his seat and they were off. 


	5. Chapter 5: The 2nd attempt

From friend to enemy  
Chapter 5  
  
Deborah pushed Jubilee through the door for the second time that week. She didn't even knock as she entered. She got down on one knee looking towards the floor as she heard the chair turn around slowly. Eliminator listened as footsteps headed towards her. They stopped inches from her face.  
"Stand Up!" he ordered.  
She got up slowly still not looking into his face. Jubilee squirmed off to her right and she had to stop herself from lashing out at her, if it had not for her she wouldn't be here. The silence that followed caused her to look up into Prof. Z's face.   
He raised his hand as if to hit her across the face but then lowered his hand again. "You have failed, Eliminator!" he said sternly.  
"Please, Professor. I have recaptured the bait and this time I have a plan of my own," she pleaded.  
"Don't beg! I am not angry with you; I am merely stating the facts. Somehow I had a feeling that you would have a plan. You did your part in my plan but the rest of the people failed and they had even outnumbered the X-men. Then you had been outnumbered and you came very close to a victory. Do I make myself clear?" he said returning to his desk.  
"Quite."  
"Now what is your plan?" he asked.  
"Allow me to explain." She walked to a hidden filing cabinet and zapped opened one of the drawers taking out the top-secret folder.  
  
********************  
  
The Black Bird came to a landing close to the building, which they had blown up just yesterday. As the jet landed though they noticed you couldn't even tell that there had been a battle there yesterday. The ramp went down and all the Xmen ran down the ramp, all fully alert.   
"What's your plan?" Wolverine asked casually.  
"This time we are going to take more precautions. Starting with the other room, we are going to check them to see that there isn't a trap. Then we will all enter together. Is that clear?" he looked around, getting acknowledgments from all the Xmen.   
"OK then, let's go," Wolverine started off towards the buildings followed by the other Xmen.  
  
  
Cyclops blasted open the door, but nobody entered. They waited 'till the smoke cleared and then as they looked inside they saw a faint green glow.   
"She's in there. I'd recognize that smell anywhere," Wolverine nodded towards the door.  
"OK then, but stay together," Cyclops said as he headed in the door.  
They entered the room, but when they got in there, there was no one to be seen. "Come out Eliminator! We know you're in here," Cyclops yelled as he strained to see in the darkness.  
Metal bars slid down over the door, "Good Cyclops! Who helped you figure that one out?" Eliminator leapt down from the ceiling. "Now what do you want?" she asked teasingly.  
"You know perfectly well! We intend to take her back one way or the other. So you can either hand her over quietly or we'll take her back."   
"Oh you mean my trophy." All the lights flicked on as she raised her hand. Now they could clearly see Eliminator and not far from her, on the other side of the room, sat Jubilee all tied up. "How could I even think of losing my trophy? But I wouldn't mind adding to my collection! What do you think laser eyes?" Eliminator snickered.  
"I will promise you right now that we will not add to your collection!" Cyclops took a step forward.  
"I wouldn't go much farther if I were you." She smiled and took a step towards him.  
"Gambit think that is a threat," Gambit said stepping up to stand beside Cyclops.  
"You could take it as that." She began to walk towards Jubilee. Cyclops took another step towards her, but stopped when her hand came up as a motion to stop.  
"We're not afraid of you. So you can stop the danger act already," Cyclops said clearly annoyed.  
"I'm glad you're not afraid of me. That will make the catch even better, but I wasn't referring to myself. I was talking about this." She raised her hand above her head and the floor began to open up near Cyclops feet. The green glow intensified as the floor opened up. When it finished moving there was a giant hole in the middle of the room. The thing that was amazing about this hole was that it was lined with glowing green ooze, on all sides plus the ground, and it also seemed to be alive.  
"A little hole isn't going to stop us," Rogue said as she gained height and took off flying over the hole. Storm got the hint and was not far behind.  
  
While Rogue picked up something and threw it at Eliminator, Storm gathered energy and took control of a storm, zapping at Eliminator. They continued like this until one stray bolt hit Eliminator square in the chest. She stumbled back a little but other than that showed no signs of weakening.  
  
"Good! Teamwork. Can come in handy if you are too weak to handle something yourself!" Eliminator laughed. "But, don't you think that one of us in this room is too vulnerable to be near this little fight." All the Xmen had stopped their attack. Eliminator was protecting herself inside a force field. "Perhaps we should change that." She turned around to face Jubilee and everyone watched as she lifted her with a twitch of her finger and stopped her five feet above the hole. "This should do it," she said releasing her hold on her.  
"NO!" Rogue screamed diving for her, but she was not fast enough. Jubilee was pulled down into the hole by the green slime.  
  
There was a long pause as Jubilee was pulled to the bottom of the hole. Then as she hit the bottom there was a blood-curdling scream. Rogue spun around to face Eliminator, "What have you done?"  
"Put her out of the way of harm. Just like I said I would. I think you would be thankful to me. I can't even harm her in there."  
"Who needs to? That green slime is going to destroy her before we even have a chance of rescuing her."  
"I know it is a pity. She was a great trophy for my boss, but I suppose some sacrifices must be made to obtain greater treasures," she smiled. Brushing herself off as if she had nothing better to do with her time.  
"How about if I make you a permanent sacrifice for your boss?" Rogue yelled half crying. "Why don't you pick on someone bigger? Or can you only handle teenage mutants?" she teased.  
"Fine, show me your best. I accept your challenge. We will see who will be making the sacrifices, my master or your professor." 


	6. Chapter 6: The team's 2nd encounter

From friend to enemy  
Chapter 6  
  
Rogue and Storm continued to attack Eliminator from all sides while the rest of the Xmen had to watch helplessly from the other side of the pit. Jubilee let out another scream of pain from the hole. The green ooze had forced her to her knees, and had her hands and legs covered, holding her there. There seemed to be no chance of saving their young teammate, but they were not going to give up. If they could not rescue her, they could at least defeat her captor. It was for this reason that the Xmen did not retreat when given the chance.  
  
"This is a waste of time." Eliminator backed up against the wall. She put out her hands, palms up. An explosion filled the room and smoke made it impossible to see two inches in front of your face. Only a small commotion could be heard over the noise.   
The smoke cleared, but there seemed to be no sign of Eliminator. As everyone looked around, there also was no sign of Gambit.  
"No! Gambit!" Rogue screamed as she searched the room.  
"He's still in here," Wolverine said sniffing the air.  
"Good call! Now let's play a little game. OK," a voice echoed throughout the room. "Aim and shoot the decoy, but I warn you don't hit the real one. Or else YOU will have to suffer the consequences."  
Two forms floated down from the ceiling and took shape. As the Xmen watched though, they turned out to both look like Gambit.  
"Shoot the decoy," Wolverine muttered to himself. He turned suddenly and looked at Cyclops, "She means you."  
"Me?" Cyclops seemed shocked. "What are you talking about?" he asked.  
"She's testing you. She wants you to shoot her but not Gambit."  
"What am I supposed to do? Can you tell the difference? I don't want to risk hitting Gambit."  
"I can't help you. They have no difference. You have to take a lucky guess."  
  
Silence filled the entire room. Cyclops looked away from Wolverine and focused on the two Gambits who seemed frozen in time. He looked from one to the other and finally opened his visor for a shot. The beam came out and hit the Gambit to the right. A howl of pain filled the room and Gambit went flying towards the pit. Rogue flew after Gambit and caught him just short of the pit. The power from the hit sent her also against the other wall with Gambit on top of her though. She started to do her best to revive Gambit.  
Cyclops gazed from one Gambit to the other. Suddenly Eliminator returned to her original form. "Good shot, laser eyes," she smirked.   
Cyclops started blasting in her direction, but she just dodged them all. "OK, you want to play again? Fine," Eliminator said, as smoke filled the room again.   
  
Nobody moved as the smoke settled and disappeared again. There was also another small shuffling noise. As the smoke finished clearing Eliminator was nowhere to be found, along with Cyclops.  
"Not again," Storm said to herself.  
"I'm sorry you feel that way," the voice echoed around the room. "Maybe you will enjoy it more if you get to make the big choice. Well here's your chance." Again two figures floated down from the ceiling, as lifeless as statues.  
The room fell completely silent. Wolverine looked at Storm who was mesmerized by the two Cyclopes. Tears filled her eyes and she dropped to the floor, "I can't do this." Nobody said anything.   
  
Storm got up and focused again. She gathered some lightning and shot. It hit the Cyclops, but instead of flying backwards like last time, it screamed and floated to the ground. Collapsing, lightning spurted around it. As the Cyclops collapsed on the floor he changed into Eliminator and a small hologram projector fell from her hand. The problem was that now her force field was not holding up the real Cyclops anymore. He started to fall straight towards the pit.   
Storm took off towards him, she managed to catch him but she was not as strong as Rogue so it was really difficult to stay up. She prepared for a slow landing, but suddenly Eliminator turned with fire in her eyes. She was a little shaken up so she wasn't too much of a threat, but even the smaller bolt she shot at Storm was enough to throw her off balance. Storm stumbled a bit and lost grip of Cyclops. He was only just beginning to wake up from his daze, but he managed to grab the side of the pit before the ooze got him.   
The slimy gook began to seep over his legs. It felt cold and lifeless causing his skin to crawl. Suddenly he looked up into the face of Eliminator. She gave a small smile, then slammed her heel down on Cyclops' one supporting hand. His knuckles turned ghostly white but he continued to hold on. He attempted to reach up with his other hand but the ooze grabbed it and pinned it to the wall with monstrous strength.  
"Not such a big shot anymore are we! You want to know a little bit about this little killer? It sucks the energy out of anybody it gets hold of. If it has more than one victim it will mainly drain from the stronger one which will be you now!" she smirked down at him. "Oh, but don't worry it will finish off Jubilee when it is done with you. She will just have to wait a little longer. If you remain in there long enough it will finish you off completely and forever," with that she added more weight to her foot. "Good-bye Cyclops, maybe your death will convince the others that they cannot stand up to Eliminator." With that she raised her foot up and kicked Cyclops hands so hard that the skin broke and blood came pouring out. She smiled to herself as his hand went limp and gave way. There was a great crash as he hit the bottom, followed by a scream. 


	7. Chapter 7: The 2nd battle ends

From friend to enemy  
Chapter 7  
  
  
All the time Eliminator had been picking on Cyclops Rogue had been taking notes and planning there next move with the remaining few Xmen. They still had Wolverine in perfect condition, Gambit who was recovering quickly, Storm who was only a bit shaken up, and herself in a pretty good condition. 'But we can't afford to lose any more,' she thought to herself.  
"She's having too much fun killing Cyclops. We could sneak up on her and hit her from behind before she even know it," Wolverine hissed.  
"I agree," Storm said nodding her head.  
"Fine we all agree. Let's hit her with all we got at the count of three. 1.....2.....3....GO!" Rogue shouted to the Xmen.  
They all charged, but just as they started their attack run Eliminator became bored with Cyclops and spun around.  
Rogue went into a dive at Eliminator's head, but she caught on fast and twirled her fingers forming a long rope. It tied Rogue's hands together, and then as if it was a lasso Eliminator grabbed the end and whipped Rogue across the room right through the wall and out of sight.  
Next Wolverine arrived. He managed to jump over the pit with claws outstretched. He slashed at her shoulder and came in contact. Her red body-suit turned a dark blood black. She grabbed her shoulder for a quick second, "Wolverine, I must say I'm a bit surprised to see you here. But I should have figured that you wouldn't have taken that beating lying down."  
"But you'll have to take this one lying down when I'm done with you," Wolverine growled through clenched teeth. As he went in for another hit though, she used his claws as lightning rods so electricity went streaming throughout his whole body. He stumbled back, and had to let his healing ability do all the fighting for a second.  
  
Eliminator started to laugh but was hit in the back by lightning and electricity. She spun around just in time to be hit again. Storm was using the hole Eliminator had thrown Rogue through to bring a storm into the room.   
"You are really starting to annoy me," Eliminator growled as she flipped up and landed on top of the wooden beams in the ceiling. Storm spun around just in time to see Eliminator come jumping down on top of her. Eliminator grabbed her around the neck, and after starting a spark on her finger, jabbed her finger hard into the middle of Storm's back.  
Storm screamed and Eliminator used her to jump back up into the ceiling causing Storm to go crashing into the pit. Sparks whirled around in the pit for a while and screams erupted from the ooze. Then there was silence.  
  
Suddenly something hit Eliminator in the head. She fell back and almost fell off the ceiling beam. She just lay there for a second. 'I cannot show any weakness around these Xmen. I must destroy them,' she thought and the fire in her eyes glowed darker.  
She came crashing down on Gambit's head, grabbed his heels and flung him across the room right into the bit. Eliminator didn't even stop to enjoy the following screams. It took all her strength just to continue standing, she was weakening severely but she was not going to give up. She managed to flip up into the ceiling where she lay down peering over the edge so she could see into the pit. After a little while of this her strength began to return to her, but she had forgotten Wolverine.  
  
After Eliminator had attempted to fry him, Wolverine had slinked into the shadows. Hidden from sight he had managed to get up in the ceiling before Eliminator. Now while she lay there, he slowly snuck up on her.   
Standing only two feet away from her helpless form he jumped into action. H made two quick slashes at her back in the shape of an X a black blood seeped out of the opening, staining her body-suit even more.  
She had been caught by surprise but now she whirled around in attack position, but she was not ready for what happened next. She had placed herself too close to the edge, and that proved to be her downfall.   
Wolverine made a slash for her face, but as she leaned to the side to avoid it he came in contact with her stomach pushing her back wards right off the edge.   
She felt herself falling, and just managed to catch herself before she fell in the pit. Now she was standing only inches away from the deadly ooze, and this was when Wolverine attacked.  
He had jumped down right after he had hit Eliminator down and now he ran at her. She began to move, but not quick enough. With one swift jump kick she went flying into the pit and hit the opposite wall so hard she just stuck there and did not slide down. Electricity flowed out of her on all sides. The ooze continued to seep over her until she could barely even move her head. Her mouth opened in a silent scream and her tongue was glowing red.  
She continued to strain against the ooze as Wolverine watched. Her muscles rippled up and down her arm and her body-suit began to rip. Soon she ceased all her movements at all. Her eyelids became heavy, and her eyes slowly closed.  
  
Just then Rogue flew in and landed by Wolverine. "Looks like you took good care of that Eliminator girl. Now how do we get them out?" she questioned.  
"One thing at a time sister. Since you bring it up though, let's start at the source." Wolverine turned and ran out the hole in the wall with Rogue not far behind.  
  
********************  
  
"Where exactly are we going?" Rogue questioned as Wolverine smashed another security system.  
"If you want to solve a problem, best to start at the source. I figure the only way to get them out of the ooze is to go find out from this Professor Z. himself."  
"Sounds logical, but how do you know where to find him?" she asked.  
"That I don't know but if we keep heading up we're gonna find him sooner or later."  
  
********************  
  
"Sir, there are two Xmen heading this way. Should I prepare your evacuation helicopter?" Prof. Z. heard as a tall green young man entered his office.  
"I really don't find that necessary. They seem like sensible mutants. I'm sure we will come to some agreement." He slowly spun around to face the young lieutenant, "I wouldn't be too concerned." He pointed at the two burly figures standing in the shadows, "If anything does go wrong they won't go unpunished. Now go."   
  
********************  
  
"Wolverine! I think we found it," Rogue yelled over the commotion of yet another smashed security camera. She was pointing at a door with a big Z scratched into it.  
"This time I'm in charge. If I tell you to run, run. If I tell you to fight, fight. Got it!" he snarled.  
"Sure thing Sugar." Then they headed towards the door. 


	8. Chapter 8: The end for now

From friend to enemy  
Chapter 8  
  
  
Wolverine rammed his shoulder against the door so hard the door broke in. His bleeding skin disappeared as he entered the door, thanks to his healing factor. The room seemed completely empty, but suddenly the chair at the desk spun around.  
"I was starting to think that you were never going to show up," the dark figured hissed.  
"If you knew we were coming, then you must know why we are here," Wolverine said unsheathing his claws.  
"I must admit I don't know that one, but I've got a pretty good guess. You want to know how to defeat Eliminator's slime pit I'm guessing. Well why don't you go ask her yourself," he started working on something on his desk.  
"In chase you didn't notice, your Eliminator is also in Her pit," Rogue clenched her fists.  
"She knew the danger in taking on this mission by herself. Were you really expecting me to give you the formula just because of that? I may lose Deborah, but I believe you have a lot more than one member in that pit."  
"You mean you're just going to let her die in there?" Rogue questioned.  
"Well, if you really want to save them I suppose we could come to some agreement." A cage suddenly came crashing down on Wolverine just missing Rogue.  
Wolverine slashed left and right at the bars, but they barely scratched. "You'll find those bars just as strong as your claws. Now down to business," Z. whipped off his robe, and rose up into the air snatching his sword off the wall. "If you want the formula you will have to defeat me in a one-on-one battle. You're going to start." He pointed his sword towards Rogue, "Shall we begin."  
  
********************  
  
"We've got to help her," Jubilee said staring at Eliminator who had not moved since she had first fallen in. Her face was pale and her body hung limp.  
"In case you haven't noticed, we are in no condition to help anyone," Gambit mumbled from off to her right.  
"Well we cannot just sit here and do nothing," she yelled attempting to turn to face Gambit, who was sitting up against the wall covered with ooze. She gave up and glanced back up at Eliminator, whose arms were straight out from her body and her legs together, as she hanged above them on the wall. The ooze seemed to be draining her faster than it had them.  
"Don't worry Jubilee. Wolverine and Rogue will get us all out, including Eliminator," Storm said from somewhere around her.  
"I don't need your help. You'll never get out of here anyway. Soon I will be gone, but you won't last much longer. So my sacrifice won't be a waste." Eliminator had suddenly snapped back to life. "The only other person who knows how to destroy this stuff is my professor, and you can be sure he will never tell." She attempted to clench her fists, but the efforts hurt her and she cried out in pain as more electricity flew out of her.  
When Eliminator's screams ceased, she returned to her limp position and the room fell silent.  
  
********************  
  
Z. made a quick slash at Rogue and missed her by only an inch, "You really have to try harder or there will be no hope for your friends."  
Rogue flew up in the air and hovered near the ceiling for a minute. "Rogue keep moving," Wolverine yelled up at her from his enclosure.  
"OK," and she swooped down at him.  
"That's more like it." He swung the sword at Rogue and came in contact ripping her suit down the front. Blood started to seep through the cut but not severely for the moment. "I hope your friend Wolverine is a better fighter.  
Rogue attempted to grab hold of the desk and throw it at him, but as she got closer to it he would cut her again with the sword. She gave up and went to throwing odds and ends at him. He managed to dodge allot of them, because of his speed. After about an hour of throwing and slicing Z. made the final blow. Rogue was weak from the loss of blood, and she went down hard. There she lay in a pool of blood and sweat.  
"One down, one to go." He snapped his fingers and the cage around Wolverine rose. He was out in a second slashing his claws.  
  
It was claws against sword, and this even matching continued for what seemed like forever, no one getting a successful hit. Then Z. made the mistake, he loosened his grip on the sword from the sweat on his hand.  
Wolverine whacked the sword out of his hands and it slid across the room. He then pinned Z. to the ground with claws raised, "Give me the formula now!"  
"You can have it. You beat me fair and square. Now you can find it."   
Suddenly Z. was yanked out from underneath Wolverine and disappeared out the window.  
Wolverine ran over to Rogue and did the best he could to stop the bleeding. Still weak, Rogue and Wolverine began to search the room.   
  
Inching along the wall Rogue tripped over something. "What in the.." As she felt around for what she had tripped over the safe appeared. "Wolverine! Look!" she screamed.  
"Great, now let's get this open." He sliced it open with one quick slice. They both peered inside, "That must be it." Wolverine grabbed a large bottle out of the safe, there was no label so they could only hope.  
They both turned and ran back out the door.  
  
********************  
  
"Cyclops! We got it," Rogue yelled as they came in the room. They had to hurry, the security alarms were going off and Wolverine said he could faintly smell gas.  
As they gazed into the pit, there was not much movement and nobody acknowledged. "Let's hope this works," Wolverine mumbled as he emptied the bottle in the pit. the ooze turned red then pink before finally shrinking away.   
The smell of gas was becoming strong in the air. "Let's hurry up and get them out of there," Wolverine commanded. He jumped down the pit, followed by Rogue and together they managed to get Cyclops, Storm, Gambit, and Jubilee out. "We'll have to come back for Eliminator," Wolverine yelled as they ran towards the black bird.  
  
********************  
  
"How's everyone doing professor," Wolverine said walking into the medical room.  
"Everyone should recover. Someone wants to talk to you though," Xavier said pointing towards Jubilee's bed.  
  
Wolverine made his way towards her bed. "Wolverine, what happened to Eliminator," she asked turning towards Wolverine.  
He reached in to his pocket and pulled out a necklace with a lightning bolt on it. "I went back for her, but the place had already self-destructed. This is all that was left of her." He turned and walked away as Jubilee just sat there staring at the necklace.  
  
********************  
  
"Eliminator! Wake Up!" Eliminator heard as her consciousness returned. Her senses snapped back to her as she realized who had spoken.  
"Yes professor," she said attempting got sit up.  
"Don't bother to get up. You have failed again. I grow tired of this game, so I've called the Master."  
"You don't mean?" she asked, surprised at this information.  
"He is going to personally take charge of the next plan."  
That was the last thing she heard before everything went black again. 


End file.
